Staff wellbeing in Early Years settings
In early years education, there’s a big responsibility on the shoulders of employees. They play a part in the cognitive, emotional and social development of the children they’re working with, which can be extremely rewarding. But it can also mean staff wellbeing takes a back seat – particularly when the pressure and stress of the role get too much, with long hours and a lot of invested parties to handle.
Because of this, many may not have the time to think about their own wellbeing or may not see it as a priority. As a result, staff wellbeing in early years education can suffer.
Early years staff love their work, but it can be emotionally demanding & stressful. Our latest early years resource shows that staff wellbeing needs to lie at the heart of nursery settings. The resource identifies four key areas that could make a difference to the wellbeing of nursery and preschool staff:
- Supporting each other
- Supportive management
- The physical environment
- Outside support
The resource was informed from the findings of a survey of 1,458 staff working in nurseries and preschool settings across England and was produced in partnership with a number of local authorities including Bury Council, Norfolk County Council, Salford City Council, Tameside Borough Council, and the London Borough of Hackney, along with the National Day Nurseries Association.
Useful links to staff wellbeing resources
Kate Moxley has a good book called ‘A guide to mental health for early years educators’.
Download Early Years staff wellbeing: a resource for Managers and teams:
You can download individual activities, a Writing a policy pull-out and a Putting your ideas into action poster
You can also watch a 'Supporting staff wellbeing in early years settings' webinar on YouTube here.
Download Early Years staff wellbeing: a resource for Managers and teams:
You can download individual activities, our Writing a policy pull-out and our Putting your ideas into action poster below.